I have recently found myself utterly moved by the following video:
The United Nations Environmental Programme says about 90% of the up to 20,000 square kilometres of marshlands have been lost because of drainage and upstream damming in what many naturalists have described as "one of the world's greatest environmental disasters."
After Saddam's losing the Gulf War of 1990, rebellions spread across the south and north of the country. Iraqi Government forces put down the uprisings brutally, bombing civilians from military helicopters. Between 30,000 and 60,000 people died, according to the US. Thousands sought shelter in the remote marshes, Human Rights Watch says.
It might be too late to restore more than half the marshlands; and a precious ecosystem, together with an ancient and venerated way of life, may for 500,000 Marsh Arabs sadly become no more than a fond memory. Everything humanly possible should be undertaken to repair this environmental vandalism, but the reality is that this will not be made a priority in time. Man's inhumanity to his fellow man often comes at too big a price.